Then (1950) and Now: Golf in New Jersey

By Kevin Casey

Photo: Chet Sanok

On our 125th anniversary, New Jersey Golf is looking at what the game was like in the Garden State since 1900, in twenty-five-year increments. In April, we highlighted the state of the game in New Jersey in 1900, the year we were founded. Last month, we focused on 1925. This month, we are looking at New Jersey golf in 1950, as the Garden State extends its leadership in American golf. 

In 1950, New Jersey’s golf scene was at once storied and surging. A generation of players was returning from World War II with renewed passion, and suburban affluence was fueling growth in private clubs and public access. Against this backdrop, golf in the Garden State balanced old-world elegance with a spirit of innovation.

From 1925 to 1950, the evolution of golf slowed compared to the breakneck developments of the century’s first quarter. First, the Great Depression and then World War II dealt golf a double bogey. Golf is a game, after all. Some much more important things had to be taken care of – and America did.

The country emerged from WWII as the world’s premier superpower and stepped out on a path that led to an economic, military, and cultural level the world had never seen before. Still, in 1950, the massive infusion of wealth into the game we play today was nowhere to be seen. America – and New Jersey – were still shaking off the rust of the past twenty years. Golf was getting poised to grow out of its niche as a rich man’s sport to a more broad-based, egalitarian form of recreation.

Here’s a snapshot of golf 75 years ago, in 1950’s New Jersey.

Golf in New Jersey, by the Numbers: 1950

• Golf Courses: In 1950, there were an estimated 75 private courses in the state. The number of municipal, county and resort courses had been steadily increasing since the 1920s, spurred by public recreation efforts and New Deal-era projects. Notable early public courses included Weequahic Golf Course (Newark, opened 1913) and Hendricks Field Golf Course (Essex County, 1929). Today, New Jersey boasts more than 250 courses – public and private combined.

• All Golfers: In 1950, there were an estimated 30,000 golfers in the state. FYI, today, New Jersey is home to 870,000 golfers, according to the National Golf Foundation.

• Women Golfers: Around 2500 New Jersey women played golf in 1950. FYI, today, about 247,000 women play golf in its various forms in New Jersey.
• New Jersey State Championships: By 1950, New Jersey Golf conducted seven annual state championships, up from five in 1925, but still well below the 25 state championships conducted by New Jersey Golf in 2025:
  • The 49th New Jersey State Amateur Championship, won by Chet Sanok at Montclair Golf Club.
  • The 30th New Jersey State Open Championship, won by Emery Thomas at the Knoll Country Club.
  • The 25th New Jersey Women’s Amateur Championship, won by Joanne Barr Tracey at Essex Fells Country Club.
  • The 28th New Jersey Junior Championship, won by Johnny Farrell, Jr., at Morris County Golf Club.
  • The 28th New Jersey Father and Son Championship, won by Michael Cestone and Michael, Jr. at Morris County Golf Club.
  • The 18th Men’s Four-Ball Championship, won by Chet Sanok and Stephen Berrien at Preakness Hills Country Club.
  • The 16th New Jersey Public Links Championship, won by Jules Gatesy at Francis Byrne Golf Course.

Chet Sanok was a dominant player of his day, collecting five total N.J. Amateur State Championship and two N.J. State Open Championship trophies. He also contributed to golf more broadly as President of New Jersey Golf in 1950.

USGA Events: By 1950, New Jersey had hosted seventeen USGA championships, including four U.S. Opens, one U.S. Women’s Open, six U.S. Women’s Amateurs, six U.S. Men’s Amateurs. Notably, Baltusrol Golf Club had graciously hosted eight of these national championships.

Equipment: Then vs. Now

By 1950, the early twentieth-century rapid-fire improvements in golf technology had slowed. World War II’s national rationing on items such as steel, rubber, and chemicals had gone a long way to sap the game’s technology advances. Still, one could say the game was coming out of a slumber, with corporate research and development recognizing the country’s growing interest in golf.

• Golf Clubs: In 1950, professional shops dominated club sales, and most retail outlets were unwilling to buck the professionals’ lead. Steel shafts were the standard and gained consistency and distance as tooling processes and alloys improved. Persimmon woods were still the standard off the tee and in fairway woods, with brands like MacGregor and Spalding leading the way. Laminated woods made up the bulk of the lower-end wood club sales. The dominant putter of the time was the Reuters Bull’s Eye, designed to swing “like the pendulum of a clock.”

• Golf Balls: The most popular golf balls in 1950 were the MacGregor Tourney and the Wilson Staff. Acushnet’s Titleist was methodically moving up in sales, buoyed by a reputation for attention to detail and consistency. All the top balls sold for about $1.25 apiece in 1950.

Caddies

The 1950s was a golden period for golfers using caddies. Caddies at New Jersey golf clubs could expect to earn around $2 per round for carrying a single bag. For carrying two bags, the pay would increase to $3. This compares favorably to the $125+ caddie fee for a single loop that is common today.

Caddies are not as ubiquitous today as they were 75 years ago. New Jersey Golf took a big step in keeping caddies in the game by establishing the New Jersey Golf Caddie Scholarship Foundation in 1947. Since then, the Foundation has provided more than 3,600 scholarships totaling more than $19 million.

Golf Course Architecture

By 1950, Robert Trent Jones, a resident of Montclair and a member of Montclair Golf Club, was the world’s preeminent living golf course architect. Credited for being the first modern, professional golf architect, he created or renovated more than four hundred courses. His work exists in forty-five states, thirty-five foreign countries, and on every continent except Antarctica. Three dozen of Jones’s designs have hosted majors or other national championships.

Jones didn’t neglect his home state. RT designed or renovated twenty-two Garden State courses, including many of New Jersey’s most honored venues. His attention to New Jersey was well balanced between new designs like Metedeconk National Golf Club and renovations, such as at Arcola Country Club and Baltusrol Golf Club.

New Jersey Golf in 1950 – Classic, Competitive, and Evolving

By 1950, New Jersey’s golf identity was cemented. It was home to the course widely considered best in the country (Pine Valley Golf Club) and some of the most storied clubs and most important golf events in America. In this era of fedoras and the fruits of prosperity, of persimmon and precision, New Jersey golf captured the heart of a game on the brink of a new age.

(For more information about New Jersey Golf’s 125th Anniversary, visit NJGolf.org, or contact the author directly at kevincasey36@gmail.com.)